Roleplaying Q&A (Questions on how to play!)

To be frank, ADK, Ire, and myself are still hashing out all the details on things like that. We are, at the moment, working out some details for a story arc for Dimicatio apprentices (yourself included) that I expect I'll be hosting, but to the best of my knowledge, freeform self-inspired RP is fully encouraged. If you don't know where to start, I designed my character and his business pretty much with the intent of giving people a place to kick back, get to know eachother, and launch new stories from. You're always welcome to post there. :)

Your character, and his establishment, is an excellent place for people to come together, mingle, and just get some basics of RP going but I think it holds a problem for those of us that are not close enough to Tellus to enjoy that type of setting. Unless, of course, there is a visiting trip that students are allowed to go on to visit Tellus; otherwise I'm not sure how Dim-Aca students (soon-to-be journeymen/women though they may be), or other students that are from further academys, could end up walking the streets of Tellus. Or am I missing something? Am I getting my geography wrong? Or, perhaps, there's some way that this is possible?

Nope, you're totally right on that. It does have it's limitations. Sadly, I don't think ADK would let me get away with a wandering tavern that made appearances at every town and academy in Solum ^_^; We will be having an event for the Dimicatio folks soon, however, so hopefully we'll get something started.

Time for a slew of questions: 1. Is magic in this realm a type of elemental pact, or is it just an affinity for a certain element of spells? 2. As found in the comic, certain spells are available to every spellcaster, regardless of elemental affinity. Are these spells few and far between, or common? 3. In the comic, it's seen that magi (At least, the main character) have their power boosted from natural occurrences concerning their natural affinities. Is this available to all spellmonkies, or only the "Variant" types? (I.E. Storm magi, quake magi, etc.) If available to all, how does this play out for baser elemental magi? (Especially those with Earth or Air) 4. Concerning familiars, is it assumed that animals follow the biblical rendition of being soulless, and therefore not sentient, or was there a typo where you meant to put, "Self couscous?" 5. There's already one school devoted to water magi. Are there other schools that cater to the other elements? More to come...

I realize this isn't really "How to play," but I'd like to know before rolling.

Good questions, here! All right. To go in order, 1. Yes, this is more of an "elemental pact" in that there is no crossover between elements, unless you're a dual mage, which isn't playable here. (They don't really show up much...) So in order to cast a "water spell" you have to be a Water Mage. Simple as that. 2. The majority of spells in Cheled are either not elemental in nature, or are sort of a blank slate, which the mage's element is superimposed on. Meaning, there are spells like the Familiar Spell (non-elemental) and then spells like a "basic attack" which are taught as just that, and which would manifest differently depending on the element of the caster. So, an "attack" spell would be different from a Fire Mage (a fireball) to a Wind Mage (blades of air). Does that make sense? A non-elemental spell will not change no matter the element of the mage that casts it, while the "blank-slate" spells that are castable by any mage (presuming they have the skill) will take on the form of the element of the caster. Similarly, magic can definitely be an art form, and even two mages with the same element may have different takes on a "basic attack" spell, just depending on individual preference and skill. So there's plenty of room for personal touches. That's why we've been calling them "blank slate" spells! :D 3. The "boosts" pretty much only apply to the the more specific mages. As in, an Air Mage will not be boosted by the presence of air around him, because that would just be insane. :wink: So, the boosts from natural occurrences really only apply to the mages that have corresponding specific sub-categories. 4. All animals have souls in our comic, but the big difference here is that before becoming familiars, the weren't self-aware. It's a little distinction, but an important one. To us, anyway, heh. 5. There is one other academy that specializes in one element, and that's a Fire academy in Sei. (It IS flippin' hot up there...) Other than that though, it's just the Solumian Water Academy. Anyway. Hopefully this answers your questions sufficiently. If not, just go ahead and ask for clarification.

Good to know, good to know... Well, anyway, I have an RP-specific question that was kind of asked above by Godhand, but... Well, I'll ask again 'cause I'm excited about being accepted into the RP, and eager to get started. Anyway, here it is: Are we (meaning my fellow Undaquinus friend and me) supposed to wait for one of you Moderator Fellows to get a little scenario started in our thread, or are we supposed to just kick things off ourselves, and freeform it? This is probably a silly question, but as much as I enjoy making stories, I haven't RPed all that often, and I don't know what the drill is here anyway, so... Any guidence would be helpful.

Free forming it would be beautiful. :3 Ideally, the rp will be mostly player run, with NPCs and other plot devices run by the DMs/mods. Course, we understand the need for a kick start, especially with only a few people, as there is right now.... However, imo that applies more to those not in the schools, which are rather self contained. We can try thinking of plots, but it should be easy enough (especially with other people) to play around on ones own.

*nods* What she said. I suggest maybe PMing each other to brainstorm ideas, if you're into the more story-oriented RPing, or just to get a sense of what you want to do even. If, however, the two of you get really stumped, I suppose my fellow Mods and I could try to give you something to get the ball rolling. You might try the former option though, first, and see where that gets you. Anyway, I'm glad you're excited as you are, so hopefully things will be able to get started for you soon.

All right, I'll get to brainstorming then, and take your advice of trying to work things out independently (via PM). It's good to know that I can turn to you guys if it all goes to Hell though, so thanks. Right. Now where to start...? Oh, one more question, though: what sort of classes do you think a little nine-year-old Water-Seeker would be taking? (Sorry to be a nuisance, but I don't have any real notion of it from the comic, or from what I've heard around here, so...)

All right, so a rough list of classes that would be found at Undaquinus would be as follows: Symbology - the study of the magical symbols used in spell circles, and other mystic runes Enchantment - learning how to enchant various objects (usually either metal or some sort of crystal) Sheilding -how to defend oneself magically Offensive Magic - how to attack with water Panthology - the study of the Gods, and how they effect magic use Solumian - the “English” equivalent Qhuchit - to be able to communicate with the numerous Qhuchit naval traders Mathmatics - mostly just the basic stuff, or that which is needed for navigation History - through a Solumian lens Navigation - to learn how to keep one’s bearings, or get around at sea Science -which includes the basics of Anatomy, Marine Biology, Physics and other... sciencey things Animal Handling/Care - so that mages will be prepared to live with their future familiars Tactics - naval strategy galore Channeling - how to draw power directly from the water around them Spellworking - the class to practice the mechanics (and art) of building a spell Seamanship - the ins and outs of handling or living on a sea vessel Swimming - a MUST for Undaquinus students; it’s the big PE equivalent Fishing - to be able to catch one’s food, if needed Marine Culinary Class - how to identify edibles, and prepare them Independent Studies - which can range from creative ventures to more in-depth work in any of the above classes This isn’t the be-all and end-all of lists, here, but it should be a decent start. If there’s any confusion, feel free to ask for clarification on whatever.

View Full Version: Roleplaying Q&A (Questions on how to play!)